Blade dispensing device



1 Feb. 10, 1942. N. TESTI 2,272,444

BLADE DISPENSING DEVICE Filed Oct. 18, 1940 Patented Feb. 10, 1942 BLADE DESPENSIN G DEVICE Nicholas Testi, Boston, Mass., assignor to Gillette Safety Razor Company, Boston, Mass, a

corporation of Delaware 13 Claims.

This invention consists in a novel device for dispensing fine-edged blades, such as safety razor blades. The device is constructed and arranged to draw the blades from a magazine where they may be safely retained in quantity in fully protected condition, and present them one by one as required by the user in convenient position for insertion in a safety razor or other holder.

In handling safety razor blades under commercial conditions of transportation and distribu- 7 tion and in the more or less casual treatment of such blades by the user, the extremely fine keen edge of the blade is likely to become dulled by being brought into contact with its wrapping or with other objects before it can be actually clamped in shaving position in the razor. On this account the best and most skillful efforts of the manufacturer in sharpening blades are often brought to naught because of the damage done to the very fragile and delicate structure of the blade edge after it has been brought to the keenest possible shaving condition and before the shaving operation is actually undertaken.

The present invention is a solution of this problem. ing in its structure a magnet and an apertured magazine containing a stack of blades and being guided for movement toward and from the magnet whereby a blade in the magazine may be presented in the field of the magnet and drawn out of the magazine when the latter is retracted.

The blades may be arranged in stack formation within the magazine by the manufacturer or otherwise inserted and maintained therein with their sharp edges out of contact with the walls :1

of the magazine. The magazine may be apertured or slotted so that a single blade at a time may be withdrawn edgewise in such a manner as to avoid all danger of wiping the fine keen edge of the blade against any part of the magazine or of the device.

The device of my invention includes as an important feature a blade-deflecting member movable to shift the position of a blade within the magnetic field after the blade has been removed from the magazine. For example, the blade may be withdrawn edge-wise and remain projecting outwardly from the face of the magnet while the blade may be removed from the magnet in this position by the user, it is probably more convenient to swing the blade first into an upright position in which it may project above the magnet with both ends clear to be grasped by the user. Accordingly, my invention in its preferred In one aspect it consists in a device includ- L.

form includes a blade-deflecting member movable 55 to tip the blade out of thestable position in which it leaves the magazine so that the magnetic force of the magnet may draw it into a more convenient position. As herein shown the blade deflector comprises a spring which is retracted to an inoperative position when the magazine is advanced into proximity to the magnet and which is released when the magnet and magazine are separated and thus permitted to engage the blade and tip it out of initial stable position. While I prefer to control the position of the blade-defleeting member by movement of the magazine any convenient mechanism may be substituted within the scope of my invention.

Another feature of the invention consists in providing the magnet with a non-magnetic fender arranged to hold the blade at a slight angle to the face of the magnet so that it may be more readily removed by the user than if it were permitted to make continuous face-to-face engagement with the magnet.

The device herein shown includes a guideway with a carrier slide upon which the magazine may be detachably located and by which the magazine isguided sojthat the blades therein are brought accurately into the magnetic field of the magnet and positioned as desired when withdrawn from the magazine.

These and other features of the invention will be best understood and appreciated from the following description of a preferred embodiment thereof, selected for purposes of illustration and shown in the accompanying drawing, in which:

Fig. 1 is a plan view of the device on an enlarged scale;

Fig. 2 is a view in longitudinal section partly in elevation;

Figs. 3 and 4 are similar fragmentary views showing the magazine in different positions in the device;

Fig. 5 is a View in cross-section on the line 5-5 of Fig. 1; and

Fig. 6 is a view in perspective of the magazine.

The device herein illustrated comprises an open rectangular box or frame l0 which may be closed, when the device is not in use, by a cover not herein shown. The bottom of the casing serves as a base and at its left-hand end is secured a mounting block ll carrying a permanent U-shaped magnet disposed with its legs directed inwardly. The mounting block is slightly thicker than the depth of the casing l0 so that the magnet I2 is disposed wholly above the edges of the walls of the casing. A fender which may comprise a curved plate I3 of brass or other non-magnetic metal is located upon the upper surface of the magnet l2 and slightly overhangs its vertical faces. This top plate l3, the magnet [2, the mounting block H and the casing are all secured together in fixed relation by a pair of bolts headed on the plate I 3 and threaded into nuts received in corresponding recesses in the bottom of the casing,

Inside the casing is provided a longitudinal guideway M of sheet metal secured to the bottom of the casing and having overhanging side flanges. This guideway extends from the extreme right-hand end of the casing to a point adjacent the inner face of the mounting block H and slightly beneath the legs of the magnet l2 which overhang the block II. A fiat magazine-receiving plate or slide l5 having a pair of upstanding pins I6 is located in the guideway It, being retained beneath its flanges but free to slide back and forth. The guideway itself is longitudinally slotted to receive a leaf spring I! which is normally bowed upwardly at one end as shown in Fig. 2 and may be formed of material stamped from the guideway 14 or as a separate element.

The magazine herein shown for illustrative purposes is designed to handle single-edged blades 25 of the type originally used with the well-known AutoStrop safety razor but the invention, of course, is not limited to this or to any particular type of safety razor or blade. As herein shown, however, the magazine is rectangular in shape and provided with blade-loeating ribs I9 in its opposite end walls which serve to position a stack of blades horizontally within the magazine but with their sharp edges positively located out of contact with the walls of the magazine although the blades are permitted to move freely in a vertical direction upon the ribs. zine is cut away in its upper edge to expose a group of blades in the upper portion of the blade stack in a central zone., At its upper edge just beneath the top wall 22 of the magazine this opening is extended at both sides in a narrow slot of suflicient length and width to permit the passage of a single blade when that blade is located in contact with the top wall of the magazine. The top wall 22 is also recessed in its forward edge corresponding with the opening in its front wall. The bottom 23 of the magazine is provided with a pair of apertures 23 arranged to receive the pins it of the magazine carrier plate and to register the magazine in the proper position upon its carrier. In the lower portion of the magazine is provided a concave leaf spring 24 which acts to urge the blade stack yieldingly upwardly so that the uppermost blade is always located in contact with the top wall 22 of the magazine.

It will be noted that the openings provided in the front and top walls of the magazine permit the forward face of the blade stack to be brought not only into the field of the magnet but also into direct contact with the legs of the magnet l2 when the magazin is advanced to its extreme left-hand position as shown in Fig. 3.

The loaded magazine may be supplied by the manufacturer or may be filled in any convenient manner so that it contains a stack of eight or ten blades 25. The loaded magazine is assembled in the device by merely presenting it so that the pins l6 enter the apertures 23 in the bottom of the magazine and the magazin is thus temporarily attached to the slide plate IS.

The front wall 2! of the maga- Eli When the user desires to abstract a blade from the magazine he has merely to advance the magazine toward the left until it is arrested by contact of the upper two or three blades in the blade stack with the face of the magnet. In this movement the magazine rides over the curved spring l3 and forces it downwardly so that its free end is carried entirely below the magnet 12 as suggested in Fig. 4. Now, upon retracting the magazine and moving it back to its initial position, the uppermost blade 25 of the stack is maintained magnetically with its edge in contact with the legs of th magnet I2 and is thus drawn out of the opening in the front wall of the magazine and left in the horizontal lower dot-and-dash position shown in Fig, 2. As the movement of the magazine toward the right continues the spring I! is released so that its end springs upwardly into contact with the blade 25 l which would otherwise tend to remain in a horizontal position of magnetic stability. However, the end of the spring I! upsets this stable condition and tips the blade upwardly about its lower edge as an axis into some such position as that indicated by the inclined dot-and-dash position shown in Fig. 2. In this position the magnetic force of the magnet I2 is at once effective to swing the blade further into a substantially vertical position as shown by the full line position of Fig. 2 and in this position the blade is located entirely above the walls of the casing Ill.

As already noted the non-magnetic plate l3 extends slightly beyond the vertical faces of the legs of the magnet, acting as a fender, so that the blade 25 is held slightly away and prevented from coming fully in contact with the legs of the magnet. In this position the blade may be freely grasped at its ends between the fingers of the user and readily withdrawn from the holding effect of the magnet and conveniently inserted in the safety razor without danger of cutting the user.

It is of only secondary importance whether the magazine is moved as herein shown or whether the magnet or both the magnet and the magazine are moved so long as the retracting movement takes place in a path parallel to a flat face of the blade being withdrawn. This insures Withdrawal of the blade from the magazine in horizontal position and Without tendency to contact the blade edge with the outlet passage of the magazine. In any case, the wide shallow aperture in the upper wall of the magazine insures final contact of the blade edge with the magazine only at the extreme ends of the blade edge.

Although the arrangement of the magazine and magnet above described are to be preferred it is contemplated that if desired the necessity for a blade-deflecting member may be obviated by mounting the magnet at an an le to the fiat face of the blade being withdrawn. Under such circumstances the blade will be at once swung toward a position of fiat-wise contact with the magnet without the interposition of a movable deflecting device.

Having thus disclosed my invention I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent:

1. A dispensing device for safety razor blades or the like, comprising a base having a permament magnet mounted thereon, and a maga zine for blades, the magazine being provided with a narrow blade-exit slot and being guided for movement on the base toward or from said magnet, whereby a blade in the magazine may be presented to said magnet and retained thereby when the magazine is retracted therefrom.

2. A dispensing device for safety razor blades or the like, comprising a base having a magnet mounted thereon, and a magazine for containing a stack of horizontally disposed blades the magazine being provided with a narrow bladeexit aperture and being guided on the base for movement toward and from said magnet, whereby a blade in the magazine may be presented to said magnet and drawn through the aperture from the magazine in horizontal position when the magazine is retracted.

3. A dispensing device for steel blades, comprising a base having a magnet mounted thereon, a magazine for blades, said magazine being provided with a narrow blade-exit aperture and being guided for movement to and from the magnet for presenting a blade to the magnet, and a movable blade deflecting element mounted in the device and controlled in its eifective position by said magazine. I

4. A dispensing device for steel blades, comprising a base having a magnet mounted thereon, a magazine for containing a stack of blades and having an aperturepermitting the passage of a single blade at a time from the magazine, said magazine being movable on the base toward the magnet to bring the stack within the field of the magnet and away from the magnet while a blade is drawn from the magazine, and means acting when the magazine is withdrawn to defiect the blade while retained by said magnet.

5. A dispensing device for steel blades, comprising a base. supporting a magnet and a blade magazine for relative movement whereby a stack of blades in the magazine may be brought into the field of the magnet, said magazine having a narrow blade-exit aperture whereby a single blade may be delivered from the magazine, and a movable blade-deflector constructed and arranged to be held in inoperative position when the magnet and magazine are disposed in close proximity and to be released when they are separated for movement into operative position.

6. A dispensing device for steel blades, comprising a base having a magnet mounted thereon at a predetermined height, a blade magazine guided on the same base in a path below the magnet and having an apertured upper portion which is presented to the magnet when the magazine is so moved, and a blade deflecting spring secured in the bottom of the device and arranged to be depressed at one end by the magazine during a portion of its movement upon the base.

'7. A dispensing device for steel blades, comprising a base, a magnet and blade magazine mounted thereon for relative movement, the magazine being shaped to contain blades and to permit egress thereof one at a time, and a spring blade deflector normally standing opposite to the face of the magnet and arranged to be retracted out of line with said face when the magnet and blade are brought into proximity.

8. A dispensing device for steel blades, comprising a base supporting a magnet and blade magazine for relative movement, and a nonmagnetic element associated with the magnet and overhanging the latter to fend a blade from surface contact with the magnet, the magazine being shaped to contain blades and to permit e ress thereof one at a time.

9. A dispensing device for steel blades, comprising a base supporting a relatively movable magnet element and magazine element, the latter having-an opening in its Wall facing the magnet element and a transverse slot intersecting said opening, one .of said elements being guided for advancing movement to bring a group of blades through said opening into substantial contact with the magnet element, and for retracting movement to draw a single blade of said group out of the magazine element through the said slot.

10. A dispensing device for steel blades, comprising a container having side walls and a bottom, a magnet mounted on said bottom in a position elevated above the side walls of the container, a guideway in said bottom having a movable slide carrier, a blade magazine mounted on the slide carrier and having an aperture and a slot in its wall facing the magnet whereby a blade in the magazine may be presented to the magnet when the magazine is moved thereto and retained by the magnet when the magazine is retracted, and a spring blade-deflector mounted in line with said guideway and arranged to be temporarily depressed when the magazine is advanced and to be released when the magazine is retracted, whereby a blade retained by the magnet may be defiected above the side walls of the container.

11. A dispensing device for steel blades, comprising a base supporting a magnet, an apertured magazine for containing a stack of horizontally disposed blades, means for guiding the magazine toward said magnet for bringing blades of the stack into the field of the magnet and from said magnet whereby a blade is drawn edgewise from the magazine and maintained by the magnet in a stable position within its field, and means movable during the retraction of the magazine for tipping the blade out of its stable position whereby it is moved magnetically to present a flat face toward the magnet.

12. A dispensing device for steel blades, comprising a base supporting a magnet with a face in vertical position, a horizontal guideway, a blade magazine movable in the guideway toward and from the magnet, and a blade deflecting device movable vertically into a position opposite the vertical face of the magnet when the magazine is moved away from the magnet.

13. A dispensing device for flat steel blades, comprising a slotted magazine for containing a stack of blades and a magnet relatively movable toward each other to bring a blade of said stack into the field of the magnet, and relatively movable away from each other in a fixed path parallel to the flat face of the blade so that the latter may be drawn from the magazine without tendency to angular displacement.

NICHOLAS TESTI. 

